Alaskan Friends! - nunavutsivuniksavut.ca · 1 Nunavut Sivuniksavut ALASKA TRIP REPORT Nunavut...

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Nunavut Sivuniksavut ALASKA TRIP REPORT

Nunavut Sivuniksavut

368 Dalhousie St. Ottawa, ON K1N 7G3 Tel: (613) 244-4937 Fax: (613) 244-0058 [email protected]

A report on the trip to Alaska by Nunavut Sivuniksavut students

April 27 - May 9, 2005

Alaskan Neighbours …

… Alaskan Friends!

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The eighteen students on the trip were from 10 different communities in Nunavut.

They were accompanied by three instructors and one member of the NS Board of Directors.

(L-R) NS board member, Bert Rose, and instructors Morley Hanson, Jeela Palluq, and Murray Angus

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The red dots show the communities where the students were from.

Our route took us through Seattle and on up to Anchorage.

We were amazed that a flight all that way cost less than half as much as a flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit!

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Image downloaded from the Alaska Native Heritage Center’s website: http://www.alaskanative.net/2.asp

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Our first day in Anchorage was spent looking around the city and the spectacular scenery that surrounds it.

Anchorage is a very modern city, since much of it had to be rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in the late 1950s.

We were lucky to be there while they were enjoying record warm temperatures, which made it easy and enjoyable for us to walk around and see the sights.

Some of us rented bikes and went on a beautiful 10 mile ride along the coast. It was beautiful!

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What a Consulate does: • Passport services • Emergency Services for Canadians in Alaska • Visas and Immigration • Trade and Investment • Government and Politics • Border Cooperation • Defence, Security and Foreign Policy • Our Shared Environment • Arts, Culture and Society • Study in Canada/Canadian Studies • Tourism in Canada

Our first official activity was a meeting with officials from the small Canadian Consulate office in Anchorage.

Rudy Brueggemann (left) and Karen Matthias came to our hostel and briefed us on what their office does, and what the current issues are that are important to both Canada and Alaska.

They also said our visit would have a positive impact on relations between the two countries.

Tannis Bolt presented them with some gifts from Nunavut, including information materials about Nunavut, and expressed appreciation for all the assistance they had provided in helping to arrange our itinerary.

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What the Institute does: It helps develop the capacities of

Alaska Native peoples and their communities through projects that:

* Enhance Native education and achievement

* Encourage Native leadership and development

* Support research, data, policy analysis and planning related to the Institute's goals

* Improve the quality of life for Alaska Native families

•  Preserve Native cultures, languages and traditional lifestyles.

•  — from the Institute’s website www.firstalaskans.org

Our first visit the First Alaskans Institute. In addition to lunch, Carrie Irwin-Brown, Senior VP (left) and Sarah Scanlan gave us a very good presentation about the different native groups in Alaska.

They also told us about their land claims settlement which was signed in 1971. It’s really different than the NLCA - their beneficiaries are all shareholders in their regional corporations, and some of them can’t pass on those shares to their children. There’s a lot of debate and concern about the future.

We gave gifts and performed for them to show our appreciation for their hospitality.

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The Commission’s Mission … is to endorse and support scientific research that enhances and perpetuates Alaska Native cultures and ensures the protection of indigenous cultures and intellectual property It was created to bring together research and science in partnership with the Native community. It serves as a clearinghouse for proposed research, an information base for ongoing and past research and an archive for significant research involving the Native community. — from the Commission’s website: http://www.nativescience.org/

In the morning, we visited the Alaska Native Science Commission, where we were welcomed by the Executive Director, Patricia Cochrane and her staff (she reminded us a lot of ICC president, Sheila Watt-Cloutier!). They then showed us a Powerpoint presentation about their various activities.

The Institute oversees all the research being done in Alasakan native communities, on everything from traditional foods to climate change. We were very impressed with their work, and with the hospitality they showed us.

Before leaving, we invited Patricia and her staff outside so we could performed some of our songs and drumming for them.

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The AFN: The AFN was founded in 1966 by representatives of 17 different Native organizations. It played a central role in getting a land claims settlement, which was signed in 1971. Since then, it has helped the 13 native corporations implement it. At the state level, AFN plays an active role in the legislative process, promoting laws, policies and programs in areas such as health, education, resource development, labor and government.

— from the AFN web site www.nativefederation.org

After the Science Commission, we visited the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), the political organization that represents Native people in all 13 native corporations.

They fed us a great lunch and we were welcomed by the most senior native political leaders in Alaska, including the AFN’s president, Julie Kitka. The staff then did presentations on the AFN’s various activites and we watched a DVD that they had recently produced.

The food was great, and so were the people! We went outside afterwards and performed some songs to show our appreciation for their hospitality. It was an impressive organization.

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Our next stop was to the Alaska Native Heritage Center on the edge of the city.

It was a marvelous, new facility dedicated to educating the public about the rich heritage of Alaska's eleven cultural groups.

Our guide showed us the many exhibits inside, including one about a woman who is the last person to know her Eyak language.

We were then given a tour outside, where they had re-created the traditional houses used by Alaska’s various Native peoples in the past.

The Heritage Center was an impressive institution, with excellent guides, and a very welcoming atmosphere. It wouldn’t be our last visit!

For more information about the Alaska Native Heritage Center, check out it’s web site:

http://www.alaskanative.net/1.asp

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Our last stop on this very busy day was at the huge Elmendorf US Air Force base on the outskirts of Anchorage.

We spent the evening with Canadian Forces personnel and their families who are stationed on the base as part of Canada’s commitment to North American Air Defence (NORAD).

We performed outside on a warm sunny evening, then spent over an hour showing them how to do Inuit games. Everyone had a great time, and the kids (and some adults) really got into it!

We ended the memorable evening with everyone gathering together to sing Oh Canada together.

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Our fourth day in Anchorage was devoted to having fun and enjoying the city and its surroundings. While some of us went shopping, others chose to climb nearby Flat Top Mountain (approx. 3500 ft).

It was an awesome experience - scary at times, but worth it by the time we got to the top. The weather was beautiful, and the views of Cook Inlet was spectacular.

We built an inukshuk to mark our visit, sang songs and did throat singing for the benefit of some other climbers, and then slid down the mountain on the snow!

It was an unforgettable experience !!

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On our First day in Barrow, we arrived with a warm welcome. Immediately everyone felt at home in a whole other country, because of the similarities of the people and the community.

We stayed at the college campus (Ilisagvik) and were well taken care of. The campus was a couple of miles out of the town, with signs saying “Beware of Polar Bears”.

Considering we had all the signs surrounding the area, we still felt very safe and comfortable with the great people of Barrow.

“As soon as we arrived in Barrow, I thought “It’s just like home”

Genevieve Killulark -Baker Lake

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During our first day in Barrow, we toured the town, and again it was very similar to our home towns in Nunavut. There were lots of ski doos, boats and animal parts such as antlers and skins.

Something we don’t see very often at home though, are jaw bones of the bowhead whale. These were everywhere in Barrow. The whale bones and sculptures are the markers of the community.

Another thing that was different from communities in Nunavut is they had many little restaurants and shops that were from other ethnic backgrounds such as Asian. It was surprisingly multicultural for such a small town.

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We spent a lot of our time at the Inupiat Heritage Center in the different facilities it holds.

We were given a seminar on how to hunt whale by the cultural education implementer, Jana. We toured the museum and had feasts.

During the time of our feasts and hanging out with the local people, a few of the students found relatives of theirs all the way in Barrow.

At the feast, all the food that was there was brought by the local people as a potluck. It was very nice of them and made for a very warm atmosphere.

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We all spent the afternoon learning the local Inupiat dances which everyone thought was just great and we all had a great time!

During the feast that followed, we were privileged to see one of the local dance groups, Fannie’s Crew, sing and dance for us. A few of the students got up and joined them.

To thank everyone for their hospitality, we did our own performance for them in return.

“It was very interesting to watch their movements and to listen to the explanations behind each one”

Annie Aningmiuq -Panniqtuuq

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We visited the middle school a few times to give presentations to the grade 5’s, 6’s and 7’s. They showed a lot of interest and a few even got up and shared with us what they know of their culture.

One of the students asked all the students to identify their Inupiat names and emphasized being proud of their culture, as they are slowly reviving it as well.

The school is named after Eben Hopson Sr., an Inupiat man who was a well respected leader for the Alaskan Natives and a founder of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

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We spent the afternoon in the school again with a different class. One class was actually studying Nunavut so the timing was great.

Some of the students wanted to try some of our dances so that was exciting and they had a lot of fun, later coming to visit us.

To no one’s surprise, our throat singing left a lot of them in awe.

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On our forth day in Barrow, a few young hunters took us all down to the floe edge to see some bowhead whales. The people were so nice to lend us warm clothes and let us ride on their qamutiks to get there.

It was an amazing experience, being a warm, beautiful spring day.

It was interesting to learn how they know when the water is open and where the whales are headed.

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Later on the same day, we had heard about a whale being caught, and some students went down to see the hunt and help pull the whale onto the ice. The captain and the crew explained how to cut the animal properly.

The captain was so nice, he took the students into his tent and made sure they left the scene satisfied.

Everyone was amazed at how the crew took orders from the captain and how organized and cooperative everyone was.

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The crew consist of about thirty men, all knowing their parts by heart and doing is so well. It was nice for all of us to see that things were still done very traditionally, with the tools and the skin boats.

The whale that was caught was about 24 feet long, which meant it was about 24 tons. The captain told us that for every foot is a ton.

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The day after the whale was cut, the captain invited the students to come and help with the preparation and storing, to share it with the community.

This whole process is still done the traditional way, by each whaling crew and the wives. It was another amazing experience to be able to help them do it.

It was also neat to see they had a lot of respect for their traditional beliefs in the spirits who help them out and the spirits of the animals. They had a whole cleansing process and ceremonies in respect to the animals and the great gift they had provided to the community by allowing themselves to be killed.

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The process of the preparation consists of lots of cutting, boiling and cleaning. We had an amazing experience helping the family and we learned so much!

The captain gave us a lot of meat to take home and share with our families. He was so generous, he was willing to just give us as much as we could take.

It really was an unforgettable experience for the group, thanks to the people of Barrow!

:)))

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After the day of preparing the whale meat, the captain’s family then held an open house so all the people of the community could come and receive their share of the catch.

It was nice to see the community’s strength, and how incredibly welcoming they were.

The experience will never be forgotten - it was a life-changing experience for us all!

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Our final performance took place back in Anchorage, at a special Mother’s Day cultural celebration at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The hall was packed, and we did our full array of songs, drumming, throat singing and games demonstrations. It was broadcast live over the internet.

It was a celebration of different cultures so we also got to see performances by the different Native peoples in Alaska.

It was a wonderful way to wrap up our amazing visit, and to say thanks to so many people for their generosity and hospitality.

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Notes from a Participant Observer:

[The Alaska trip marked the first time that a Board member accompanied the students on their end-of-year trip. Bert Rose represented the board, and his observations and conclusions are printed below:]

“It is clear that the international trip is a milestone in the completion of the year of studies at the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program for the students. Our students were well prepared, knowledgeable and professionally in their approach to meeting their international audiences on this trip.

“The learning experience of this particular trip with information exchanges at the intellectual, emotional and social levels were truly amazing. The reconnection of students with families separated by four or five generations was outstanding.

“The intellectual challenges for our students of seeing Alaskan "Eskimos" and recognizing the common cultural roots with Inuit from Nunavut was suitable to the advanced level of study of the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program. The emotional impact of reuniting "family” across the arctic was a special opportunity which had profound impact on the Canadian and new found American friends.

“I am grateful to the Board for being included as a representative on this trip. I thoroughly explored ever possible aspect of the staff/student relation on the trip with positive observation. I am proud of the maturity and success of our students in undertaking such a journey.

“My unhesitating recommendation to the Board of Directors is that the program continues to feature this as a major initiative within the program.”

Bert Rose, NS Board Member

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THANK YOU !!

The trip was awesome. I loved every moment of it. It meant a lot to me going to Alaska and meeting other Inuit. They were so nice and welcoming. Again many thanks and, these trips do mean a lot to the students. — Jessica Pearce, Iqaluit

I am very grateful and appreciative that our class of 2005 had a chance to go to Alaska at our end of the year trip. It was a great experience to see how our cultures were a lot alike and differed at the same time. Thank you for this opportunity.

— Nadia Mike-Dulmage, Iqaluit

Thanks to the people that sponsored the NS trip to Alaska! I had a great time, and it was a great learning experience! I came back to Canada with a greater appreciation for being a Nunavut Beneficiary. — Genevieve Killulark, Baker Lake

The Alaska trip was an amazing experience. I felt a strong connection to the land and it's people, it was very worthwhile.

— Cynthia Pitsiulak, Kimmirut

The trip to Alaska was an amazing experience. we got to see and explore a different way of life.. it was informative, educational and exciting. a trip ill never forget..THANKS!— Vicki Hainnu, Clyde River

We are so lucky that we got to see another culture just like ours. when i returned back home I realized that my home town was so much like Barrow - one happy little town rich with culture. I would have never realized this if i didn't see what another culture was like.

— Sandra Lyall, Taloyoak

Our trip to Alaska was amazing, it is very refreshing to see people who are so committed in keeping their culture. I am very happy about the whole experience!

— Annie Aningmiuq, Pangnirtung

Alaskan Friends! - nunavutsivuniksavut.ca · 1 Nunavut Sivuniksavut ALASKA TRIP REPORT Nunavut...

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